In Contention

Author: Chad Hartigan

  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: Chad’s best of 2010

    When it came time to choose a snappy title for my year-end retrospective, the one that seemed to fit best is the one given to all my columns at In Contention this year. Oscar and I have shared a mutual disinterest in what the other feels to be award-worthy for a few years now and it doesn’t look like the trend is going to change much in 2011. For those interested, my top 20 last year garnered a whopping three nominations between them (two coming in the Best Animated Feature category).

    If there was any kind of trend or narrative to my taste this year, I guess it would be the rise of documentaries. Nearly 50% of my top 20 is comprised of the medium (including a few hybrids that blur the line), compared to a single entry last year. My guess it has more to do with a growing disenchantment towards lazy screenwriting than a noticeable uptick in quality non-fiction film. Regardless, truth was truly more interesting than fiction for me in 2010.

    Elsewhere, a number of high ranking films have to do with relationships and their struggles, possibly connected to the fact that breaking up with my girlfriend of four years was probably the defining event of my year, personally. Sometimes a movie hits you when and where you need to be hit.

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 2007 and 2008

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    Welcome to the final entry in the Life Without Oscar series. Why call it a day with one, possibly two years left to consider? Well, for one thing, we won’t know which films are going to be snubbed from 2010 for another two weeks (although I’ll bet my house and home that the titles I’d be writing about have no chance). Instead, next week I’ll offer up my Best of 2010 wrap-up, which will be my last scheduled contribution to the InContention site.

    It’s been fun, marveling at the box office performance of “Avatar” together, trying to convince you to watch “Pootie Tang,” and generally engaging in debates through the comments. But we’re not done yet, so let’s keep things moving here.

    “No Country for Old Men” won Best Picture in 2007, in my opinion, the only respectable choice of the decade by the Academy. Then they had to follow it up with “Slumdog Millionaire,” a film that I couldn’t possibly hate more. Of course, more newsworthy among the blogging world was the Best Picture snub of “The Dark Knight,” and the possibly related fact that these would be the last Oscars to feature only 5 Best Picture nominees.

    Also, we decided that “I’ve taken like three pregnancy tests, and I’m forshizz up the spout” was dialogue from the best written movie of 2007. But speaking of best lines, Janusz Kaminski might have my favorite Oscar quip ever while becoming the first cinematographer to present an award- “Suck it, Anthony Dod Mantle.”

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 2005 and 2006

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    We all remember Jack Nicholson’s raised eyebrows as he said the word, “Crash” at the end of the 2005 ceremony. What has to be, objectively, one of the biggest surprises of the last twenty years in the Best Picture category is, subjectively, one of the worst catastrophes the Academy has ever produced. “Crash” is a wretched film, but let’s focus on the positive. This was the first time a Best Picture winner was a film that premiered at festivals and was picked up for distribution.

    Ang Lee became our first non-white Best Director winner, George Clooney became the first person to receive acting and directing nods in the same year for different films, no film won more than 3 Oscars for the first time in nearly sixty years and the Best Documentary winner grossed more than the Best Picture winner. No shortage of talking points then.

    2006 was the year of Scorsese, finally winning the big prizes for “The Departed.” Biopics continued to reign in the acting categories, with Forest Whitaker joining last year’s Philip Seymour Hoffman in the category of non-traditional leading men walking away with Best Actor honors.

    Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGeneres were charged with hosting duties, both more famous in the TV realm and both serviceable MCs. Again it was up to Jack Black and Will Ferrell to bring the night’s best entertainment.

    So what should you throw into your Netflix queue other than “Crash?”

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 2003 and 2004

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    2003 belonged to “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” as it won every single award it was up for, tying the all time record haul of 11 trophies. Few could argue that Peter Jackson had accomplished something unique with the execution of this trilogy, but in my humble opinion, this is the most boring and bloated Best Picture winner since “Around the World in 80 Days.”

    Throw in the fact that Tim Robbins in “Mystic River” and Renee Zellweger in “Cold Mountain” are both embarrassingly bad performances and you can start to realize why Oscar and I have agreed to go our separate ways. At least “City of God” nabbed a few nominations, causing a stir in an otherwise sterile race.

    Clint Eastwood completed his transformation back into Oscar darling in 2004 with a Best Picture triumph for “Million Dollar Baby,” which also scooped up awards for Director, Actress and Supporting Actor, dooming Martin Scorsese to another year in the loser’s bracket.

    Billy Crystal hosted in 2003, mistakenly thinking that constant jokes about New Zealand were going to be entertaining. At least we had this though.

    Chris Rock took the reigns in 2004 and may have not won over Sean Penn, but I thought his bit interviewing moviegoers at the Magic Johnson theater about Oscar contenders was amazing. Anyway, hope you all watched “Pootie Tang” this week and are ready for some new suggestions.

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 2001 and 2002

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    After being overlooked in 1995, Ron Howard finally got a pat on the back from Oscar in 2001 for “A Beautiful Mind,” which was Russell Crowe’s second Best Picture winner in a row. If that wasn’t bad enough, the inaugural Best Animated Feature award went to the unwatchable “Shrek,” making this one of the more dubious overall years in Oscar history.

    In my opinion of course. “Chicago” isn’t much better but 2002 at least threw us a nice curveball when Adrien Brody became the youngest Best Actor winner in history and Roman Polanski became the oldest (and fugitiviest) Best Director for “The Pianist.”

    At four hours and 23 minutes, the 2001 ceremony is the longest ever, made worse by the fact that Whoopi Goldberg was in charge of it. At least they got Woody Allen to show up for the first time ever for a post-9/11 tribute to New York. I’d suggest the entire ceremony be relocated to New York if it meant Woody would host.

    Steve Martin came back in 2002 and trimmed things up by almost an hour. Way to go, Steve! He also delivered what might be my favorite Oscar joke ever- “In “About Schmidt,” Jack Nicholson plays a retired insurance executive who climbs into a hot tub with Kathy Bates. But hey, who hasn’t?”

    Also, Eminem!

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1999 and 2000

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    We’ve all heard that 1999 is the best year in movies since 1939 or possibly ever, but it’s hard to defend that statement if you actually believe “American Beauty” is the cream of the crop like the Academy did. Yet another “you had to be there” award that the Academy seems so prone to, while Cannes can pick timeless classics more often than not.

    At least the Academy saw fit to reward true ingenuity in the form of three nominations apiece for “Being John Malkovich” and “Magnolia.” They even stuck a toe in the water of bravery by nominating a song from “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,” even if it was the worst and least offensive one in the film.

    The first year of the new millennium was conquered by “Gladiator,” but will perhaps be better remembered for Steven Soderbergh’s near-unprecedented double Best Director nomination and the record-breaking 10 nods nabbed by “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the most ever for a foreign film.

    Academy members also seemed to have popped in their “Dancer in the Dark” soundtrack CDs but couldn’t be bothered to do the same with the actual movie, which is the only way to explain Björk landing a nomination for Best Song and not Best Actress.

    This year marked Steve Martin’s first time at the helm and he remains my favorite Oscar host ever thanks to deadpan gems like, “You know, I saw the movie ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ and I didn’t see any tigers or dragons. Then I realized, it’s because they’re crouching and hidden.”

    Here’s what I recommend you spend your time watching.

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1997 and 1998

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    Before James Cameron was making $3 billion grossing movies, he was stuck directing $2 billion grossing art films that won tons of Oscars. I remember seeing “Titanic” three times in the theater at the age of 15, trying to get Kelly Adams to make out with me. I loved that movie yet still I remember being disappointed that “Good Will Hunting” didn’t take the top prize and that Burt Reynolds came away empty handed as well. We’re never satisfied, are we?

    Billy Crystal hosted and the result was the most watched telecast ever. And if you remember this show, you remember watching an endless segment introducing 70 previous winners. It was the worst.

    1998 gave us the second biggest upset in the last twenty years, when “Shakespeare in Love” took the top prize from “Saving Private Ryan.” At the time, I was outraged, but now I’m more than happy to throw my weight behind the former as a better film. Of course, we all know “The Thin Red Line” is where it’s really at.

    Roberto Benigni may go down in history as the only winner to stand on Spielberg’s chair after hearing his name. Say what you want about his performance, but he remains the only Best Actor winner in a foreign language film and that’s a fantastic achievement.

    So what failed to excite the Academy?

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1995 and 1996

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    I saw “Braveheart” on video and I’m not positive if that was before or after it won Best Picture at the Oscars. Whenever it was, Mel Gibson’s historical epic immediately became this 13 year old’s favorite movie of all time. My second favorite movie of all time back then was “Apollo 13,” so it was a good Oscars for me.

    1996 became famously known as the “Year of the Indie” and “The English Patient” walked away with just about every award under the sun. I seem to remember Andrew Lloyd Webber quipping, “I’m glad there wasn’t a song in “The English Patient,”” while collecting his prize for “Evita.”

    Cuba Gooding Jr. completed the first phase of his future career as a punchline by winning Best Supporting Actor for “Jerry Maguire,” while Juliette Binoche etched her name at the top of Lauren Bacall’s shitlist by winning Best Supporting Actress in a huge upset.

    Speaking of punchlines, Whoopi Goldberg delivered them in ’95 before Billy Crystal’s triumphant return in ’96. Goldberg, who remains my least favorite MC of all the broadcasts I’ve watched, thought that following Vanessa Williams’s performance of “Colors of the Wind” with a glance behind her and the line, “What color is my wind?” constituted great comedy.

    But I digress.

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1993 and 1994

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    1993 was the year I first became interested in making movies and tracking box office. There are two words responsible for both and they rhyme with Yourassic Lark. The director of that beast would also helm our Best Picture winner that year, finally earning the Academy’s respect. I’m talking about Steven Spielberg and “Schindler’s List” of course, but if you ask me, “Jurassic Park” is the better film.

    Tom Hanks won Best Actor in both 1993 and 1994, becoming the first person since Spencer Tracy to take the prize two years in a row. I’d begrudge him the honor, but he’s just so darn likable. Honestly though, Denzel Washington should have gotten some love for “Philadelphia” too. This win marks the only time an acceptance speech was adapted into a movie (“In & Out”).

    1993 is also personally notable as the first time I had seen one of the Best Picture nominees by the time of the ceremony (“The Fugitive”).

    1994 was easily won by “Forrest Gump,” despite the presence of what IMDb users consider the greatest movie of all-time being in the mix. Really, IMDb users? “The Shawhsank Redemption?” It was also David Letterman’s one and only shot at hosting, which has been much-maligned but remains one of my favorite turns at the gig. Infinitely better than Whoopi Goldberg in 1993.

    Uma. Oprah.

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1991 and 1992

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    1991 was a banner year for the Academy bucking trends. Of course, “Silence of the Lambs” was the big winner, a first for the horror genre and the first time the winning film was available to own on home video before nominations came out. That it was only the third film to win the “big five” was even more impressive.

    Arguably more daring was the Best Picture nomination bestowed upon “Beauty and the Beast,” which remains the only animated film to get the call in a field of five. Also noteworthy is the Best Picture nomination for “The Prince of Tides” and Best Director omission for Barbra Streisand. Many cried sexism since it was the third straight time a female-directed Best Picture nominee failed to also receive a nomination for Best Director.

    Instead, we got John Singleton, our first African American Best Director nominee and our youngest, at age 24! How exciting must it have been to be following the Oscars this year? I wouldn’t know because…

    1992 was the first year I watched the Oscars. I vividly remember Billy Crystal singing and dancing his way through the nominees and Clint Eastwood collecting his gongs for “Unforgiven.” I hadn’t seen a single nominated film from the big categories and since I was living in Cyprus and the show would have been at 4am live, I imagine my Dad must have taped it onto VHS for me, but I remember loving every second of it.

    But enough Oscar nostalgia. The real good films are never nominated anyway and here’s the proof.

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1989 and 1990

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    We’re almost out of the god-awful 1980’s and into the decade where I came of age. I will say that 1989 brings my very first actual going-to-the-cinema memory, which was seeing “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” I may have gone to the movies before then, but whatever I saw wasn’t that memorable.

    As for the Oscars, “Driving Miss Daisy” won Best Picture in one of the more head-scratching results in recent memory. It’s been a trivia note ever since as the last time a film won the big prize without a Best Director nomination to back it up and it’s unlikely that the feat will be repeated any time soon.

    1990 is another frustrating year for movie nerds as Kevin Costner emerged triumphant with “Dances With Wolves” over Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas.” More notable is the outright snub of “T-U-R-T-L-E Power” in the Best Original Song race. Academy Award nominee Partners in Kryme, anyone?

    Billy Crystal presided over both ceremonies, his first of eight critically beloved times at the helm.

    So what did the Academy completely ignore?

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1987 and 1988

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    So sorry for the hiatus with this column but I took a break last week to focus on the top 10 horror films list and am a day late this week because I was stuck shooting all day yesterday. I’m sure you’ve all been missing it intensely.

    But where were we? Ah, the late-80’s. A time when Hollywood fluff like “Moonstruck” and “Fatal Attraction” were up for Best Picture, but lost to, what else, a historical epic from an acclaimed director. Bernardo Bertolucci’s, “The Last Emperor,” swept the 1987 ceremony, winning nine Oscars from nine nominations, the largest haul since “West Side Story.”

    1988 belonged to “Rain Man,” but is perhaps more notable for Kevin Kline’s slapstick work in “A Fish Called Wanda” earning him a rare statue for a comedy. Every argument with an Oscar nerd since regarding comedic performances sees them bring it up as a precedent. Didn’t help Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy or Sacha Baron Cohen though.

    The ceremony itself is infamous for an opening number that involved Snow White and Rob Lowe singing some awful duet. Why this particular number, in a vast sea of awful numbers throughout the course of Oscar history, has been singled out is beyond me. And probably beyond Rob Lowe as well.

    But now it’s my turn to do some singling out.

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  • THE LISTS: Top 10 horror films of all time

    It’s Halloween week and since we are a movie site, we are under some kind of unspoken obligation to provide our dear readers with a list to fit the festivities. You may remember a similar list popping up two years ago, in which all current contributors voiced an opinion and the final results represented a collective agreement. Since I was not a contributor at that time, Tapley asked me to offer up a new take this year.

    A little backstory on my relationship with scary movies seems appropriate. I was raised by two Christian parents who were very protective of the images that I put into my head. When I was six years old, I was playing at a friend’s house when he suggested we watch “Beetle Juice.” Knowing that it was a potentially objectionable title, I called my mom and asked if it was okay and she said it was not. Kids being kids, we watched it anyway.

    What did I think of it? It scared the crap out of me. So much so, that I understood why my mom didn’t want me to watch it and actively avoided scary images on my own free will from then on. When one or two infiltrated me, such as “Ghostbusters,” I was always a little rattled. As I’ve grown, I’ve only become slightly less sensitive to these types of images and only actively seek out scary films if I hear there is a lot more going on to make it worthwhile.

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1985 and 1986

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    1985 saw “Out of Africa” win the top prize in another instance where I’ve only seen one of the Best Picture nominees. I don’t know what it is about this period, but hardly any of the films jump out as necessary viewing when looking back on what to catch up on. I’ve been meaning to see “The Color Purple” for a while, but also, don’t really care.

    Spielberg’s drama came into the ceremony with 11 nominations and went home with a goose egg, tying an Oscar record. Spielberg himself didn’t get a directing nod, Akira Kurosawa jumping in instead for “Ran.” Fans of ladies daytime TV would be happy to see two of their favorites, Oprah and Whoopi Goldberg, were both nominated this year.

    Oliver Stone’s “Platoon” earned top honors in 1986, competing against a number of films made outside of the Hollywood studio system. One of them, “Children of a Lesser God,” was the first Best Picture nominee ever directed by a woman. It’s also the first and only time an Oscar winner couldn’t attend because they were busy filming “Jaws: The Revenge” (cough, Michael Caine).

    Finally, the winner of Best Documentary Short was a montage called “Precious Images” that may as well have been made by the Academy. It’s the first piece of film they show every new student at my film school and used to joke that if you could name every film in it, you could get free tuition. Check it out here, movie nerds!

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1983 and 1984

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    1983 was dominated by James L. Brooks and his sentimental weepie, “Terms of Endearment.” I can’t imagine it deserved the award, but I also have no room to complain since this is one of the few Best Picture fields where the winner is the only title I’ve actually seen.

    Linda Hunt won Best Supporting Actress for “The Year of Living Dangerously,” playing a man. Felicity Huffman would come close to doing the same in 2005, while Sarah Jessica Parker sees her efforts continually overlooked film after film (I kid, I kid).

    1984 was a battle royale between “Amadeus” and “A Passage to India,” with Milos Forman’s biopic eventually emerging triumphant. This year also saw Mr. Miyagi from “The Karate Kid” nominated in the same ceremony that awarded the first acting Oscar for an Asian to Haing S. Ngor.

    Take it away, Sally Field- “The first time I didn’t feel it. But this time I feel it! And I can’t deny the fact that you like me! Right now, you like me!”

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1981 and 1982

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    Can I just take a moment here to publicize that the 1980’s are by far, my least favorite decade in cinema. Despite the great titles that I’ll be spotlighting here and my feelings that it was the best time for blockbuster filmmaking, it’s just a generally depressing era. Genuine artistic voices were in short supply so if anyone has recommendations for these years, definitely throw them my way.

    Perhaps I should start with “Chariots of Fire,” one of only a handful of Best Picture winners I have yet to see. The unheralded British production was a surprise winner over Warren Beatty’s “Reds,” which I have also not seen.

    I was, however, conceived in 1981 so cut me some slack on these titles. I’ll get to them. As I was preparing to enter the world, all four acting winners were on their way out, averaging 71 years old, including Henry Fonda’s first ever win.

    Another British production about a true story, “Gandhi,” took top honors in 1982. This was also the year “Tron” was disqualified from the Best Visual Effects category because the Academy thought using a computer was cheating.

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1979 and 1980

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    After I saw “Apocalypse Now,” I thought to myself that it was a much, much better movie than “Kramer vs. Kramer.” A quick glance at the internets revealed that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had already determined that “Kramer vs. Kramer” was in fact, the better film. How could I be so wrong? Oh well, can’t argue with those arts and sciences people.

    That same bunch nominated Edouard Molinaro as Best Director, for a foreign film about a gay couple no less. Who says the Academy isn’t progressive? They also awarded Meryl Streep her first Oscar on her second attempt, clearly worried that there may never be another chance to honor her.

    Family drama continued to dominate as the 1980’s rolled around when “Ordinary People” scooped the top prizes for Robert Redford. Poor old Marty Scorsese sentiment began right around then, but it should be noted that it was kind of his fault that the ceremony was delayed a day, after “Taxi Driver” obsessed John Hinckley Jr. tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan for Jodie Foster. Take it away, Johnny Carson!

    Miss Piggy: Jonathan, you saw “The Muppet Movie.” Can you stand there, in your rented tuxedo, and tell me that I am not Oscar material?
    Johnny Carson: Oscar Mayer maybe.

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  • LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1977 and 1978

    Catch up with the idea behind this series here.

    Hey, that “Star Wars” thing was nominated for Best Picture in 1977. The blockbuster game-changer was beaten by the romantic comedy game-changer “Annie Hall,” in what has to be one of my favorite Best Picture wins ever. It would be 21 years before another comedy won the top prize in “Shakespeare in Love,” which is another one of my favorite Best Picture wins. More good comedies please!

    Sir Stevie Spielberg earned his first Oscar nomination for directing “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” but saw the film lose out on a Best Picture nod to “The Goodbye Girl.” That film earned Richard Dreyfuss the honor of becoming the youngest Best Actor winner until Adrien Brody, decades later.

    “The Deer Hunter” bummed everyone out enough in 1978 to take home Best Picture and Director statues. The only real competition came from “Coming Home,” as anti-Vietnam films were suddenly back in vogue.

    1977 was also Bob Hope’s last turn as Master of Ceremonies (his eighteenth). No more quips like this one, “Tonight we set aside petty differences, forget old feuds, and start new ones.” Luckily, 1978 was the first of many Johnny Carson hosting gigs with gems like, “I see a lot of new faces. Especially on the old faces.”

    But here’s what had to watch from home.

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